Rui Esteves is definitely from Peru and has a blog! Rui tries to find the good in everyone, which is difficult when he has to work for this hive of scum and villainy, but he makes do. Rui does so enjoy graphic novels, as evident from the name of his blog: Reading Graphic Novels, twitter handle: @RGNblog, and Facebook page: rgnblog.

Best place to read comics
Vacation is already a faint memory. My agriculture days are over (for now) and I'm back to the life in the city. Going back to work means train rides, and that means 200 minutes a week of comic reading time.After last week's sci-fy awesomeness of Atomic Robo I went for a some sword & sorcery followed by a bit of mystical western. One is a personal favorite and the other a fan favorite. This seems like a good week for comics.
D&DDungeons & Dragons Volume 3 Down continues the story of our rogue party of thieves and mercenaries.This time its all about the dwarf Kahl. Poetry and asskickery is what can be expected in this wonderfully oversize edition.The remembrance of this book will come to terms on Labor day, the next Wednesday 1st of May.
The 6th GunThe Sixth Gun Volume 2 brings back Drake, Becky and company. The curse of the six guns continues to haunt Drake and Becky. Drake is taking measures to try to break his connection to the 4 mystical guns he toke from General Hume's goons.Voodoo, new foes, gunslingers and lots of action is all packed in this neat trade paperback by Oni Press.You can read all about it next Saturday the 4th of May.Follow Reading Graphic Novels on Facebook and Twitter.
Originally Published at Reading Graphic Novels http://readinggraphicnovels.blogspot.com/2013/04/next-on-rgn-4.html

Cover
Atomic Robo is back in this seventh volume of his adventures. This time he has an adventure somewhere in the Pacific where he encounters a rogue group of female air pirates, roughly after the end of the second Word War.
The War might have ended but it didn't stop for everyone. In the Pacific former Allied forces still fight rogue Japanese special forces for the supremacy of the territory.
Robo and the Flying She-Devils will have to work together in order to stop the plan of the Chokaiten, the Japanese rogue forces, for the destruction of the United States of America.
How is it?
Atomic Robo, oblivious to what is happening in the Pacific, takes his shinny new unarmed jet plane prototype out for a test flight and gets attacked by a Japanese rogue group. Luckily for Robo the Flying She-Devils appear to save the day and drive the attackers away. Then they take Robo and whats left of his plain to their secret hideout to figure out what to do with him. There he meets all the She-Devils and gets cough up in the Japanese plot to destroy the United States of America.
Jetpack Dog Fight
If you're familiar with Brian Clevinger's and Scott Wegener's work on Atomic Robo you're expecting action, humor, weird science and a certain degree of randomness. While all these things are in there, this book has a different feel than the previous ones. For the first time Robo isn't the sole protagonist. This could very well be named The She-Devils of the Pacific Volume 1 Atomic Robo and it would be equally correct.
This seventh volume takes a darker tone to storytelling. The essence of Atomic Robo is there, but the story is more serious than what we're used to. There will be death, and while (if i'm not mistaken) this is not a new thing, it has an impact not yet seen in Robo's books. You're introduced to a bunch of new characters, but by the time the book hits the 3rd act, you've already made a connection to most of them. This makes the death all the more important.
I'm not saying its a perfect narration, far from it. It does suffer a bit from some cliches. The Japanese obsession with their mission, the Russian girl that drinks heavily, the greasemonkey that almost orgasms when she sees Robo's advance Jet motor or the captain of the sky pirates that wears an eyepatch are just a few examples. But this is just me being nitpicking,
Art wise its standard Atomic Robo. Cool and consistent art that does a great job conveying the dynamics of the air battles and make all the talking heads panels look interesting. One little detail I was not expecting is that all of the She-Devils character model's are based on real life persons. Brian and Scott were kind enough to explain that to detail in the extras.
She-Devils to the Rescue
Verdict?
This is one of my favorite Atomic Robo books thus far. Its a great addition to the already stellar pool of Atomic Robo adventures. If you've never read an Atomic Robo book before have no fear. Every arc can be read without any knowledge of what came before. Atomic Robo continues to be a series that every sci-fy comic book lover should be reading.
Don't forget to check out my review of Atomic Robo The Ghost of Station X, if you didn't already.
Publisher: Red 5 Comics
Year: 2013
Pages: 150
Authors: Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener
ISBN: 098689852X
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Originally Published at Reading Graphic Novels http://readinggraphicnovels.blogspot.com/2013/04/review-atomic-robo-volume-7-flying-she.html

Potatoes
This week on RGN:The reading pile increases
Atomic Robo is once again rocking my world
Orders get delayed
Planting potatoes
The sun is here and (hopefully) to stay
Going outside your comfort zone is often challenging and rewarding. This is true in most aspects in life, but this time I've applied it to my holiday's activity. No trip to the beach nor doing some sightseeing in any old town for me. These holidays its all about planting some potatoes. Why? Well the old man needed help and I'm happy to lend a hand.Sadly this means that my reading pile is getting bigger and bigger. It also means that this week I'll only be able to review one book. But on the flip side, the sun is here, its very good weather, its time to take those comics and hit a beach or a pool.
Atomic Robo
Atomic Robo Volume 7 The Flying She-Devils of the Pacific will be reviewed next Saturday, 27th of April.
I'm still reading it, my agriculture activities are slowing my pace a bit, but thus far it shows great promise This might be a turning point for Atomic Robo storytelling. The humor is still there, so is the action, but there's a different feel to it.This time Robo is cough flying an experimental jet plane over the pacific when he is attacked by a group of Japanese high-tech planes. Then, out of nowhere, a group of female pirates armed with sticky bombs and jetpacks (think The Rocketeer) come to his rescue and save the day. This is a story about them, where Robo sometimes takes the back seat.Follow Reading Graphic Novels on Facebook and Twitter.
Originally Published at Reading Graphic Novels http://readinggraphicnovels.blogspot.com/2013/04/next-on-rgn-3.html

CoverCHARISMAGIC #1
Vince Hernandez ­ Story / Vincenzo Cucca ­ Art / Emilio Lopez - ColorsCHARISMAGIC returns as Aspen¹s newest Œ10 for 10¹ debut!Magician Hank Medley thought he had everything figured out. After saving theworld from an ancient, ruinous evil, with the help of a Druid named Sudanaand his magical talking cat Sparkles, Hank discovers the true nature of darkmagic has arrived in his own realm‹our world! Now, the trio must attempt toput an end to catastrophic events that will threaten to tear Earth apartunder the weight of such a menace. Featuring a returning cast ofCharismagic¹s favorite characters along with several new and astonishingfaces and creatures of magic, this new volume of CHARISMAGIC is a perfectjumping-on point for all!Joined by the sensational artwork of Vincenzo Cucca, CHARISMAGIC creatorVince Hernandez and colorist Emilio Lopez are ready to take you on anamazing ride in this newest volume of the acclaimed hit series. Be preparedbecause everything you thought you knew about magic is about to vanish!CHARISMAGIC #1 is in stores May 1st, 2013!
Preview Page 1
Preview Page 2
Preview Page 3
Preview Page 4
Cover B
Cover C
Cover D
Cover E
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Originally Published at Reading Graphic Novels http://readinggraphicnovels.blogspot.com/2013/04/preview-charismagic-1.html

Cover
What if the Manhattan project was much more than just about creating the Atom Bomb? What if we were not alone in the Universe? What if there were other dimensions?
In The Manhattan Projects Jonathan Hickman explores this premise and brings to life a new Universe that takes some historical figures and facts and presents them in a fresh new light with unpredictable twists and many disturbing characters.
This first volume might just be the start of a long and fruitful adventure.
How is it?
This is a hard book to review. There isn't much I can talk about without spoiling some of the many twists and turns Hickman throws at the reader. Lets start there, Hickman's approach to this theme is the best thing about this book. At first sight there might not be much interest in a bunch of scientists going about their daily affairs and struggling to get the A-Bomb going as soon as possible. However Hickman's imagination is working overtime and that produces some really odd situations and some very disturbing characters.
Welcome to the Projects
The Manhattan Projects Volume 1 is mostly about setup. Its all about getting to know the characters, their past, their main dysfunctions and the status of the Projects.
Who is Dr Oppenheimr? Whats so special about him and how will his duality impact the Manhattan Projects? Well, I won't spoil that, but he is, by far, the most interesting character in this first volume. He most definitely not what he appears to be.
And what about Einstein? E definitely not equals mc2 with this one. Once again Hickman plays the duality card. A completely different card, but the underlying tone stays the same.I was expecting a sweet old man with a massive intellect, but humble at his core. I was also expecting him to take center stage ( he is in the cover after all). Boy was I wrong.
Apart from the "meet the staff" stuff Hickman plants the seeds for many things to come. But this book isn't just about setup. In the last third of the story our Manhattan Projects scientists will get a encounter of the 3rd degree with a not so peaceful alien race. The result of this encounter makes the A-Bomb look like a footnote in the Projects achievements.
The only aspect I didn't enjoy was the art. It does get better by the last pages, but the first chapter or two its
Good, a Portal!
hard to enjoy. Luckily the writing more than makes up for the art shortcomings.
Verdict?
At first I was going to stay away from this book, but after reading so many good reviews about this book I had to take a look. I'm very glad I did. I'm completely sold on this one for the long haul, and can't help it but to recommend it to anyone that enjoys comics.
Publisher: Image Comics
Year: 2012
Pages: 144
Authors: Jonathan Hickman, Nick Pitarra
ISBN: 1607066084
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Originally Published at Reading Graphic Novels http://readinggraphicnovels.blogspot.com/2013/04/review-manhattan-projects-volume-1.html

Diver
A few weeks ago I posted about the Book of Da Kickstarter project. It was successfully funded and then some. It got more then 500% of the original goal. This was quite amazing. I gave my (small) contribute because this seemed like a good, thought out project, and the story was just like my type of sci-fy cup of tea. And I wasn't alone.I'm still waiting for the book to arrive but I had totally forgotten about the other stuff Mike and Matt offered to backers.So yesterday I got a postcard in the mail. This is something I rarely get nowadays (apart from Christmas). Its funny how a simple postcard is much more exciting than a digital era type of communication.Matt and Mike were nice enough to not only do a little drawing but also write personalized postcards. Here it is:
Front
BackYou're welcome Mike and Matt. Can't wait to read the Book of Da.Follow Reading Graphic Novels on Facebook and Twitter.
Originally Published at Reading Graphic Novels http://readinggraphicnovels.blogspot.com/2013/04/book-of-da-postcard.html

Jirni
Aspen Comics is pleased to head north of the border and back to Canada for the first of two back-to-back
weekends. Beginning on April 20th – 21st, Aspen will be attending the Fan Expo Vancouver 2013 convention and will be bringing some of their finest creators along with exclusive comics and prints.Aspen creators Frank Mastromauro (Shrugged), Peter Steigerwald (Soulfire), Siya Oum (Executive Assistant: Iris) and J.T. Krul (Jirni) will be at the Aspen Comics Booth all weekend long to meet fans, sign autographs and offer free sketches.The all-new Aspen series Jirni will celebrate its release with a special Jirni #1 Fan Expo Vancouver 2013 exclusive cover by series artist Paolo Pantalena and Nei Ruffino, limited to 300 copies. Aspen will also be offering an exclusive Shrugged #2 Fan Expo Vancouver cover by Siya Oum, limited to 200 copies. Both exclusive books will only be available at the Aspen Comics Booth.
SHA
The celebration of Aspen’s ten years in the industry continues with the all new Aspen Tour Print Anniversary Edition art print by Michael Turner and Peter Steigerwald, limited to (125) editions. In addition to the Aspen Tour Print, the publisher will also be offering an all new series of their industry leading prints, including the all new series Jirni.The latter of Aspen’s two stops in Canada will be at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo on April 26th-28th. The publisher will reveal more details about this appearance soon.For more information on Fan Expo Vancouver please visit www.fanexpovancouver.com.
Jirrni B
Shrugged Follow Reading Graphic Novels on Facebook and Twitter.
Originally Published at Reading Graphic Novels http://readinggraphicnovels.blogspot.com/2013/04/aspen-comics-at-fan-expo-vancouver.html

Cover
Alabaster Wolves follows Dancy Flammarion an albino monster killer teenager. With her angel by her side Dancy spends her days killing all sort of monsters that have the bad luck to cross her path.
Her angel guides her action with an invisible hand. However the angel's motivations and objectives are true a mystery. Dancy seems to have mixed feelings about her companion. On one hand she acknowledges that the divine plan is not for her to know, but on the other she doesn't enjoy being a puppet.
In Alabaster Wolves she finds herself without the guidance of her angel. Problem is she is trapped in a small American town with hordes of werewolf on her trail.
How is it?
The only information I had when I started reading this book was the Amazon product description. Turns out that Dancy Flammarion already has a vast history in one other literary medium.Caitlin Kieman already published a couple of novels that star Dancy and establish her background and motivations. That's all fine and dandy but I feel Caitlin should have eased the new reader in more softly.
Dancy, the Angel and the Ghost
The story is not very complicated. Dancy roams into a small, seemingly deserted town and imminently weird stuff start to happen. There's a little and irritating talking bird that will serve as a familiar to Dancy (or something similar). Then there's the creepy deserted town. No soul in sight, no body anywhere, but there's sign of recent civilization everywhere. On top of this there's the werewolves that appeared out of nowhere.
Time's Up
Dancy then has to solve the werewolves mystery. Along the way she makes friends with a ghost former werewolf teenager girl that will be pivotal to her mission. If you've seen any Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode you know everything you need to know about this story.
The cover of this collection and of the individual issues (also reprinted in this hardcover) are absolutely gorgeous. This causes a major shock because as soon as you turn the first page and see the inner art you'll notice that it has nothing to do with the covers. Not as much notice as your eyes will bleed a little. Of course after a while you'll get used to it and realize the art isn't that bad. In fact a couple chapters in I was actually fond of it.
My main complain is that there is so much that happen that I can't understand how it came to be that it takes me out of the story, and lowers my enjoyment of this. Stuff like Dancy's apparent supernatural abilities, everyone knowing her name, the rules of her relationship with the angel, just to name a few. There are to many plot conveniences for my taste. Many times I got the felling that Caitlin wrote herself into a corner and had to add a Deux Ex Machina moment to get things going again. The problem is that it happened more than a few times.
Verdict?
I have mixed felling about this one. In my opinion it has some major flaws, both in writing and in art. Albeit that the flaws of the art mostly come from high expectation. The writer wrote a book for her fan base with little to none concern for new readers. That wouldn't be a problem if this wasn't Dancy Flammarion 's debut on the comics medium.
But, for some reason that I can't explain, I enjoyed it. Maybe it was the similarities to Buffy, maybe it was the mystery, maybe it was the horror, maybe it was the action, maybe it was randomness, maybe it was the craziness maybe it was nothing of the above. I simply wasn't able to put it down until the last page. Even the bonus story was worth it (I might have forgotten to mention that there is a bonus story about bridge trolls).
I won't recommend it, but I did have some fun reading Alabaster Wolves.
Publisher: Dark Horse
Year: 2013
Pages: 136
Authors: Caitlin R. Kiernan, Rachel Edidin, Steve Lieber, Rachelle Rosenberg
ISBN: 1616550252
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Originally Published at Reading Graphic Novels http://readinggraphicnovels.blogspot.com/2013/04/review-alabaster-wolves.html

Jirni Covers
Aspen is pleased to announce that the third release in their ambitious “10 for 10” initiative, Jirni #1 by J.T.
Krul, Paolo Pantalena and Brett Smith, has ordered in excess of over 36,000 copies and will feature a large array of retailer exclusive covers personalized for each individual store. Aspen Owner and President Frank Mastromauro discusses:“To say we're happy with the response to Jirni #1 would be a complete understatement. Though we felt the property would do well, we're thrilled with the amount of feedback and interest we've received on it so far. JT, Paolo and Brett did an amazing job on this book and I cannot wait to hear what the fans think about it. This series marks our highest selling '10 for 10' debut this year, and I don't see that slowing down anytime soon!”Aspen is pricing each debut #1 “10 for 10” issue for the affordable price of only $1 and is also offering other incentives for each release such as original hand-drawn sketch covers, CGC editions, and special retailer incentive covers by popular artists J. Scott Campbell and Eric “Ebas” Basaldua.Fans and new Aspen readers who add each of the “10 for 10” titles to their comic shop’s local subscription service will be eligible to receive the special Aspen Reserved Edition variant covers. Those fans who collect all ten Aspen Reserved Edition #1 covers will receive a free full-size Aspen “Perfect 10’s” Jam Poster featuring all ten “10 for 10” covers on one image colored by superstar colorist Peter Steigerwald. The Jirni #1 Aspen Reserved Edition cover features artwork by series artist Paolo Pantalena and Steigerwald.Aspen encourages everyone to check out the release of Jirni #1 for only $1 on April 17th.
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Originally Published at Reading Graphic Novels http://readinggraphicnovels.blogspot.com/2013/04/aspens-jirni-1-personalized-retailer.html

Einstein
This weak my esteemed boss may or may not have a work trip planned for me. If that comes to be then it
means less time to read and write. So this week I'm aiming for two reviews. Two very distinct books.One I had very high expectations and the other I had none. One has a beautiful cover and the other has the usual bland and lack luster Hickman creator owned cover. The first was a shoot in the dark (like many books I buy) the second was bought due to the recommendations of the good folks at The Outhouse.On the 17th, next Wednesday, Alabaster Wolves will get reviewed.
Alabaster Wolves
On the back of the book is written "For nearly as long as she can remember, Dancy Flammarion has fought monsters, cutting a bloody swath through the demons and dark things of the world, aimed like a weapon be force beyond her control or questioning.But now, for the first time, Dancy finds herself alone...... and the wolves are closing in"
The Manhattan Projects Volume 1 Science Bad takes center stage at the 21th of April, next Sunday.
Science Bad
This got recommend to me over and over and over again. And then some more. I read the premise and it didn't spark much interest. However I had to see why this got so many recommendations and so many stellar reviews.The premise is simple: "What if the research and development department created to produce the first atomic bomb was a front for a series of other, more unusual, programs?"Follow Reading Graphic Novels on Facebook and Twitter.
Originally Published at Reading Graphic Novels http://readinggraphicnovels.blogspot.com/2013/04/next-on-rgn-2.html